BROWN COUNTY, WISCONSIN: Shad Thyrion was brutally killed in February 2022, and Taylor Schabusiness is accused of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and third-degree sexual assault in the case that has shaken the entire country. The state has now begun presenting its case in the trial of the 25-year-old Wisconsin woman.
The victim's mother Tara Pakanich, who claimed to have discovered her son's head in a bucket, also testified in court, telling the jury how she was awakened in the middle of the night by her front door slamming.
Who is Tara Pakanich?
Tara Pakanich is the mother of Shad Thyrion, a 25-year-old Green Bay resident who was murdered in February 2022. His mother, who married Michael Thyrion, discovered Shad's remains in the basement of their home. Tara is thought to be in her early 50s, though her exact age isn't available.
Reports say Schabusiness picked Thyrion up on February 21 at around 9.30 pm, and this was the last time his mother saw him alive. The next day, Pakanich and her boyfriend were out for the majority of the day, and she missed hearing her son or Schabusiness arrive home. Since she heard the accused woman conversing, she assumed they had spent the day in the cellar.
'This is an intentional act'
In a succinct opening statement, the prosecution presented the evidence it intends to use to convince the jury that Schabusiness killed Thyrion, 25, intentionally. Assistant District Attorney Caleb Saunders stated, "She's describing what's happening to Shad. It's evidence you'll hear, and you'll hear it from the defendant's mouth that this is an intentional act. It's not one pull of gun trigger. It's an intense act."
'Listen to what every witness has to say'
The defense advised the jury that there are usually two sides to every story and that they should consider all the available information before making a choice. As per Schabusiness' attorney Christopher Froelich, "I ask when you're considering all of the evidence, don't jump to a conclusion, don't rush to judgement. Please keep an open mind and listen to all the facts, listen to what every witness has to say, carefully and weigh what they have to say."
'We had an actual head in the bucket'
A supervisor from the Brown County 911 Center took the witness stand first. The jurors heard the 911 call made by Thyrion's mother's boyfriend during her testimony. When Thyrion's mother Tara Pakanich, Steve Hendricks' girlfriend, discovered what she thought to be his head in a bucket in the basement of her home, she immediately dialed 911. Officer Alex Wanish testified, "I went downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, to the right, there was a green bucket with a shower towel on top of it. Just to verify we had an actual head in the bucket, lifted the towel off and there was in fact a human head - severed head - in the bucket."
What did Pakanich testify?
In her testimony, Thyrion's mother related how she was awakened in the middle of the night by the slamming of her front door. She got out of bed to see if her son was in the basement of her house. She went to go upstairs when she realized she couldn't find him in the basement and came across a five-gallon pail with a towel on top. According to Pakanich, she removed the cloth from the bucket and discovered her son's head within.
State called eleven witnesses
A detective from the Green Bay Police Department was the final witness on the first day of testimony. He spoke in court about analyzing the scene. The jury was shown images of the crime site as well as locations where human remains were discovered during his testimony. The state called eleven witnesses in total on the first day of testimony. The jury is anticipated to hear directly from Taylor Schabuiness on Tuesday, July 25. Part of her interview with detectives after she was taken into custody will be used as evidence by the prosecution.
